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Box office analysis Oct. 7

By:
Martin Grove
Oct 07, 2001

Americans volunteered to buy over $24 million in basic Training tickets at this weekend's box office.
Driven by powerful openings for Warner Bros.' Training Day and Miramax's Serendipity, ticket sales for key films rose nearly 32 percent over the previous weekend and about 15 percent over the prior year. Insiders called it another clear indication that moviegoing is once again a routine part of American life.
The weekend also benefited from Monday, Oct. 8 being Columbus Day in the U.S. and Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Holiday Mondays typically generate stronger Sunday night ticket sales.
Also helping to propel this weekend's box office were strong sneak previews Saturday night for MGM and Hyde Park Entertainment's comedy Bandits (for details see SNEAK PREVIEWS below).
With the breaking news Sunday morning at about 10 o'clock Pacific time of America's military action in Afghanistan in response to Sept. 11's terrorist bombings in the U.S., it is possible that anticipated Sunday ticket sales may be hurt by non-stop television crisis news coverage. If so, Monday's final numbers will be somewhat less than today's early morning estimates. But with Friday and Saturday ticket sales having already exhibited great strength, Hollywood should look good even if Sunday's numbers are less than projected.
THE TOP TEN
Warner Bros. launched its R rated police corruption drama Training Day to an explosive ESTIMATED $24.18 million at 2,712 theaters ($8,914 per theater).
Training's average per theater was the highest for any film this weekend.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the Warner Bros. presentation in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment stars Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.
"This is the largest opening weekend in Denzel Washington's distinguished career," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "His previous
record was Remember the Titans with $20.9 million (via Buena Vista at 1,865 theaters the weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2000) and also became his largest grossing film at $115 million (in domestic theaters). This is the largest October opening in Warner history."
Training, Fellman added," performed extremely well in all markets with the largest grosses coming from major urban areas -- New York, L.A., Detroit, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta. The demographics were about 48 percent male and 52 percent female, of which 75 percent were 25 and older. All segments had excellent reactions to the film."
What accounts for the film's strong opening? "I think it really has to be credited to excellent reviews, Denzel's performance and the direction of Antoine Fuqua," Fellman replied. "We're very happy. It's terrific."
Warners originally planned to release Training on Sept. 21, but moved it to Oct. 5 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Those attacks resulted in the networks pre-empting regular television programming and advertising for days in order to provide wall-to-wall crisis news coverage.
"We needed the time to promote the film and we obviously had to make an adjustment in our release schedule," Fellman explained. "This turned out to be a great date and we made the right choice."
Miramax's PG-13 rated romantic comedy Serendipityarrived in second place to an engaging ESTIMATED $14.0 million at 2,601 theaters ($5,382 per theater).
Directed by Peter Chelsom, it stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.
"It's off to a great start," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow, said Sunday morning. "I think the sneaks (last Friday and Saturday nights) definitely helped set us up for this weekend because we had great word of mouth out of the sneaks and continue to (have) this weekend. We have, again, 80 percents in the Top Two Boxes and 70 percents definite recommend."
Who was on hand opening weekend? "Our core age demo looks to be 21 to 39, making up about 60 percent of the audience," Kaminow said. "And what's encouraging is we shifted a bit on our male-female split. Where last week it was 65-35 (female-male), we're now looking more like 60 percent female and 40 percent male, which is great because the guys are liking it as much as the women. So we don't have to get pigeonholed as just a female movie. Last night looked to be a big date night movie.
"As I said last week, the movie provides romance and comedy, which is a great combination for all audiences and for right now. For the time, I think it's the perfect movie. It's the first romantic comedy to come out since the tragedies. And it's a love letter to New York, as well. So (for) all of these factors, it just seems like the right movie for the time. We think like Bridget Jones's Diary and The Others earlier in the year, this is going to hang in there and continue to play and be a word of mouth hit and, hopefully, not have the big drops each week and really play through. So it's a very encouraging start and we're very happy."
20th Century Fox's release of Regency Enterprises and Village Roadshow Pictures' R rated thriller Don't Say A Word fell two pegs to third place in its second weekend with a solid sizzling ESTIMATED $10.0 million (-41 percent) at 2,842 theaters (+40 theaters; $3,519 per theater). Its cume is approximately $32.2 million, heading for about $70 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Gary Fleder and produced by Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson, Word stars Michael Douglas.
"There's a lot of business this weekend," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning.
"The marketplace is certainly strong. I only track 12 pictures and I'm up 4 percent from last year."
Asked what accounts for the upswing in ticket sales, Snyder replied, "As always, people are going to the movies and there are some good movies being put out -- and not
with thoughts about just make it soft or whatever. We're putting out regular movies and the public's responding."
Paramount and Village Roadshow Pictures' PG-13 youth appeal comedy Zoolander slipped two slots to fourth place in its second week with a still funny ESTIMATED $9.85 million (-37 percent) at 2,520 theaters (+13 theaters; $3,909 per theater). Its cume is approximately $28.7 million, heading for $45-50 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by and starring Ben Stiller, it was produced by Scott Rudin, Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld.
20th Century Fox and Regency's R rated thriller Joy Ride kicked off quietly in fifth place to an ESTIMATED $7.3 million at 2,496 theaters ($2,955 per theater).
Directed by John Dahl, it stars Steve Zahn, Paul Walker and LeeLee Sobieski.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated comedy Max Keeble's Big Move opened in sixth place to a not-so-big ESTIMATED $5.5 million at 2,014 theaters ($2,752 per theater).
Directed by Tim Hill, it stars Alex D. Linz, Larry Miller, Jamie Kennedy, Nora Dunn and Robert Carradine.
Warner Bros.' release of Castle Rock Entertainment's PG-13 rated drama Hearts In Atlantis went wider in its second week, sliding four rungs to seventh place with a slower ESTIMATED $5.4 million (-40 percent) at 2,010 theaters (+259 theaters; $2,687 per theater). Its cume is approximately $16.8 million, heading for about $30 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Scott Hicks, it stars Anthony Hopkins.
Paramount's PG-13 rated urban appeal drama-comedy Hardball slid four notches to eighth place in its fourth week with an okay ESTIMATED $3.7 million (-28 percent) at 2,314 theaters (+96 theaters; $1,599 per theater). Its cume is approximately $30.8 million, heading for $40 million.
Directed by Brian Robbins, it stars Keanu Reeves.
Dimension Films' hit PG-13 thriller The Others fell four rungs to ninth place in its ninth week with a less scary ESTIMATED $3.0 million (-39 percent) at 2,272 theaters (-452 theaters; $1,320 per theater). Others, which cost only $17 million to make, has a cume of approximately $90.7 million, heading for $100 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, it stars Nicole Kidman.
Rounding out the Top Ten was New Line Cinema's PG-13 rated action comedy blockbuster sequel Rush Hour 2, which was sixth last week, with an okay ESTIMATED $1.78 million in its tenth week (-29 percent) at 1,549 theaters (-537 theaters; $1,146 per theater). Its cume is approximately $221.6 million, heading for $225 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Brett Ratner, it stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend saw no other wide releases.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
This weekend saw MGM hold 1,000 well-attended sneak previews Saturday night of its PG-13 rated comedy Bandits. The sneaks were held at theaters playing Paramount's Hardball, which reflected their success in its Saturday grosses. After doing about $0.9 million on Friday, Hardball soared to about $1.75 million on Saturday, up about 95 percent.
Directed by Barry Levinson, it stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett.
"We were two-thirds full overall with 15 percent sell-outs," MGM marketing executive Amanda Lundberg said Sunday morning. "80 percent were in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good). 70 percent definite recommend. The average age was between 25 and 34. It was 52 percent male and 48 percent female.
"We're thrilled. It's exactly what we wanted. It's exactly why you sneak a picture. It's exactly what you hope to get when you sneak a picture."
Bandits opens Friday (Oct. 12) at about 3,000 theaters.
EXPANSIONS
There was no significant action on the expansion front this weekend.
INTERNATIONAL
Universal International reported Sunday morning that it had the number one and two films in Germany this weekend with American Pie 2 and Bridget Jones's Diary. Pie 2 in its second week in theaters grossed $3.9 million for Thursday-Saturday, bringing its 10 day cume to $16.6 million, the year's 10-day best for any film playing in Germany. Bridget in its seventh week took in $0.8 million, bringing its 45 day cume to $18 million.
In Austria, Pie 2 was first on the chart in its second week with $0.38 million in ticket sales for Friday-Saturday. Its nine day cume is $1.8 million, matching what Pearl Harbor did but running 47 percent ahead of The Mummy Returns and 145 percent ahead of Jurassic Park III.
In the Netherlands, Pie 2 opened to over $0.5 million for three days, more than double the first four days for the original American Pie.
In Spain, Universal's The Fast and the Furious got off to a strong start this weekend with
$0.55 million for two days. The film was second to Miramax/Dimension's The Others, which has topped the chart in Spain for five weeks.
In its fourth week in the U.K., Fast had a two-day gross of $0.525 million, ranking fifth in the marketplace. In its third week in Australia, it grossed $0.425 million for three days, placing fifth on the chart.
Overall, Universal said Pie 2's international cume is now $22 million with 36 countries still to open. Fast has an international cume of $28 million with 20 countries still to open. Bridget, which Miramax released domestically (and co-financed with Universal), has an international cume that is now over $150 million with 10 countries still to open.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $91.07 million, up about 15.06 percent from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $79.15 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 31.64 percent from last weekend of this year, when key films took in approximately $69.18 million.
Last year, Universal's opening week of Meet the Parents was first with $28.62 million at 2,614 theaters ($10,950 per theater); and Buena Vista's second week of Remember the Titans was second with $19.21 million at 2,701 theaters ($7,112 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $47.8 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $38.2 million.

Veteran CBS newsman Walter Cronkite has come to the defense of Dan Rather who twice broke down in sobs on David Letterman's show last week.
At a news conference in San Jose, Cronkite, who himself was visibly shaken when he reported the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963, remarked: "It was not until I had to say that the president was dead that it hit me the enormity of what I was reporting. ... I don't blame anybody for showing emotion on the air. I don't think I would trust a reporter, male or female, who didn't show any emotion."
As reported by Friday's San Francisco Chronicle, Cronkite also noted that Rather had had to cope with enormous pressures during the previous week. "Not until it's all over and you can sit down do you realize the horror of what you have just witnessed. I think this is probably what is happening to Dan," he said.

There was a close race for first place between Buena Vista/Disney and Pixar's animated blockbuster "Toy Story 2" and Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's opening of the drama "The Green Mile."
Based on Sunday's estimates, the G-rated "Toy 2" held on to the top spot on the chart, but only by a nose. When the box office dust settles Monday, it is possible that because the two films were so close in the estimates, they could wind up reversing positions.
Working against "Mile" was the fact that its adult audience is busy with holiday shopping and office parties. An additional negative for "Mile" is that its three-hour running time gives it fewer performances per day than "Toy 2" has with its running time of about 90 minutes. To some extent, however, "Mile's" broad release at 2,875 theaters gives it the potential to take in big grosses even with fewer showings per day.
"Toy 2" was bolstered by strong sneak previews Saturday night for Buena Vista/Touchstone's "Bicentennial Man," starring Robin Williams (for details, see SNEAK PREVIEWS below). Also adding to "Toy 2's" strength vs. "Mile" is that it is playing even wider, with 3,257 theaters.
In its fourth weekend, "Toy 2" did a still punchy estimated $18.70 million (-32%) at 3,257 theaters (+19 theaters, $5,747 per theater). Its total is approximately $140.8 million, heading for a domestic theatrical total of $250 million to $275 million. Directed by John Lasseter, it features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Wayne Knight, Laurie Metcalf, Estelle Harris and R. Lee Ermey. Its score and two new songs were composed by Grammy Award winner Randy Newman.
"I'm putting it at roughly $200 million on New Year's weekend," Buena Vista Distribution President Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "The original did $42 million after New Year's. So it will be very interesting to see if we can outdo that and get into the $260-270 millions."
Noting that "Toy 2" was only off 32% this weekend, Viane said, "It's right in line (with where the first 'Toy Story' was at the same point in its run). The original was off 31% and considering we're wider, I'm really happy with this. I know the gross was bumped (up) a little by the sneaks (of "Bicentennial Man" on Saturday at 260 theaters playing 'Toy 2'), but that's OK."
Focusing on BV's critically acclaimed but underperforming drama "The Insider," Viane said its strong showing in the L.A. Critics' vote Saturday -- winning Best Picture, Actor (Russell Crowe) and Supporting Actor (Christopher Plummer) -- should help it at the box office. "That's going to help us in the long run. There's no question about it," Viane said.
Warner and Castle Rock's R-rated "Mile" kicked off to a very close second with a solid but unelectrifying estimated $18.57 million at 2,875 theaters ($6,459 per theater). "Mile's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide release last weekend. "Mile's" opening was in line with Warner's launch of "You've Got Mail" to $18.43 million the weekend of Dec. 18-20 last year. Written and directed by Frank Darabont, "Mile" stars Tom Hanks.
"It was the best exit interviews we've ever had," Warner Bros. Distribution President Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "They were sensational. Audiences just loved this movie. We had a definite recommend of over 80%. The top two boxes (excellent and very good) were in the 90%s. Response was phenomenal. CinemaScore had the people who rated the movie A or B at 97%. Overall grade was an A."
Buena Vista/Touchstone's R-rated youth-appeal comedy "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" opened in the money, placing third with a muscular estimated $13 million at 2,151 theaters ($6,058 per theater). Directed by Mike Mitchell, it stars Rob Schneider.
"We had projected the picture to be flat (from Friday to Saturday)," BV's Viane said. "We thought Friday-Saturday would be the same as (what is) typical of teen-age movies. But it went from $4.4 million to $5.1 million last night (Saturday), up 14%. So we're very pleased with that. It plays great. Last night the ethnic theaters came alive, so I have a feeling today's (Sunday) going to be really good."
MGM's PG-13-rated "The World Is Not Enough," the 19th in its James Bond series, fell two rungs to fourth place in its fourth weekend with a less worldly estimated $6.20 million (-42%) at 3,063 theaters (-100 theaters, $2,024 per theater). Its total is approximately $99.5 million, heading for $130 million to $135 million in domestic theaters. Directed by Michael Apted, it stars Pierce Brosnan in his third performance as 007.
"We'll get to $130-135 million," said Larry Gleason, MGM worldwide theatrical distribution president, on Sunday morning. "The holidays will push it back up."
Universal and Beacon Pictures' R-rated action-fantasy adventure "End of Days" dropped two notches to fifth place in its third weekend with a slower estimated $4.72 million (-51%) at 2,652 theaters (+54 theaters, $1,780 per theater). Its total is approximately $53.2 million, heading for about $70 million in domestic theaters. Directed by Peter Hyams, it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Paramount's R-rated period action adventure "Sleepy Hollow" slipped two notches to sixth place in its fourth weekend with a quieter estimated $4.60 million (-48%) at 3,065 theaters (-4 theaters, $1,501 per theatre). Its total is approximately $81.3 million, heading for $100 million in domestic theaters. Directed by Tim Burton, it stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci and is based on Washington Irving's classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
Universal's R-rated suspense thriller "The Bone Collector" dipped two pegs to seventh place in its sixth weekend with an OK estimated $1.70 million (-47%) at 2,031 theaters (-490 theaters, $835 per theater). Its total is approximately $60.8 million. Directed by Phillip Noyce, it stars Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Sony's Columbia Pictures unit is partnered 50-50 with Universal on "Bone's" worldwide film rentals. Sony is releasing the picture internationally.
Lions Gate's release of "Dogma," the controversial R-rated irreverent comedy it took over from Miramax, fell one slot to eighth place in its fourth weekend with an unexciting estimated $1.20 million (-43%) at 1,159 theaters (-133 theaters, $1,035 per theater). Its total is approximately $26.4 million. Directed by Kevin Smith, it stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman and Chris Rock.
Warner Bros.' G-rated Japanese animated feature "Pokemon: The First Movie" slipped three rungs to ninth place in its fifth weekend with a dull estimated $1.11 million (-53%) at 2,426 theaters (-617 theaters, $458 per theater). Its total is approximately $82.3 million, heading for a domestic theatrical gross of about $90 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 was USA Films' R-rated comedy "Being John Malkovich," down one rung in its seventh weekend with a decent estimated $0.96 million (-30%) at 630 theaters (+6 theaters, $1,517 per theater). Its total is approximately $15.3 million. Directed by Spike Jonze, it stars John Malkovich, playing himself, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener.
"The top markets were really pretty strong (for 'Malkovich'). They were relatively unaffected by the new business," USA Films distribution head Jack Foley said Sunday morning. "I think we'll be able to cruise through, particularly now that the (critics year-end) lists are coming out. The main markets --(like) Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle -- are holding in. That's where we'll be able to drive the picture up into the $20 million range, which I think we'll get to, even without a lot of big awards. I think if we get nominations, we're going to go p into the $25 million range with it."
USA opens the drama "Topsy Turvy," written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner as Gilbert &amp; Sullivan, at two theaters this week.
"We'll be in the Paris in New York and AMC Century City for a week only in Century City," Foley said. "We'll open the picture in the Paris and run it. Los Angeles has been a little bit bumpy lately when you look at how art films have opened recently. It's been inclement in that market. So we'll qualify the film (for Oscars). We'll open it this Wednesday (Dec. 15). It will be off screen the following Tuesday.
"The Paris will run through. I think in New York, the levels of risk are diminished greatly because of the culture. And with that theater, particularly, it enhances its opportunity. If there's a theater in the country that's going to make that picture snap to life, it's the Paris."
OTHER OPENINGS
Weekend 50 also saw the arrival of Miramax's PG-13-rated drama "The Cider House Rules" in New York and Los Angeles, placing 19th with a promising estimated $0.115 million at 9 theaters ($14,375 per theater). Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it stars Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine.
"It goes to the top 20 (markets) this Friday," Miramax senior vice president, marketing, said Sunday morning.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's R-rated drama "Cradle Will Rock" arrived in 20th place to an encouraging estimated $0.094 million at 9 theaters ($11,780 per theater). Its total after five days is approximately $0.125 million. Written and directed by Tim Robbins, it stars Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades and Joan Cusack.
"We're going to add some cities, like San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Dec. 25," Buena Vista Distribution president Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "Then on Jan. 14 we're going to broaden it out."
Miramax's PG-13-rated comedy-drama "Diamonds" opened in New York and for a one-week Oscar qualifying run in L.A., placing 24th with a not very sparkling estimated $7,500 at 2 theaters ($3,750 per theater). Directed by John Asher, it stars Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall.
MGM's R-rated drama "Miss Julie" began exclusive runs in New York and L.A., placing 25th with a slow estimated $6,219 at 3 theaters ($2,073 per theater). Directed by Mike Figgis, it stars Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan and Maria Doyle Kennedy.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
Weekend 50 saw Buena Vista/Touchstone hold sneak previews of its PG-rated comedy-drama "Bicentennial Man." "Bicentennial," financed jointly by Touchstone and Columbia Pictures, is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Robin Williams.
"We snuck on the second and third screens of 'Toy Story' last night and everything sold out," Viane said Sunday morning.
Viane said there were 260 sneaks and that the studio's exit polls showed that "94% rated it excellent or very good. The cume score was 91%, which means it snuck just as well as 'Phenomenon' for us, which is really good. In terms of male/female -- 52% female. In terms of audience -- couples and families represented 87%, and teens represented 13%. In terms of ticket sales -- approximately 80% of the seats were sold."
"Bicentennial" opens Friday (Dec. 17) at about 2,200 theaters.
Twentieth Century Fox held a second round of sneak previews Saturday night at 1,200 theaters of its PG-13-rated drama "Anna and the King." Directed by Andy Tennant, it stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat.
"They did really well," Tom Sherak, 20th Domestic Film Group chairman and senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said Sunday morning. "Sixty-three percent of the theaters were between 50-100% full. The picture played extremely well -- 80% in the top two boxes (excellent and very good)."
"Anna" opens Friday (Dec. 17) at about 2,000 theaters.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, Weekend 50 saw Warner Bros.' R-rated comedy-drama "Liberty Heights" place 17th with an OK estimated $0.29 million at 42 theaters (+36 theaters, $6,904 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.725 million. Warner will hold sneak previews of the critically acclaimed "Heights" next weekend and will expand its run again Dec. 22. Written and directed by Barry Levinson, it stars Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Orlando Jones, Bebe Neuwirth and Joe Mantegna.
Fine Line's PG-13-rated drama "Tumbleweeds" went wider, placing 22nd with a quiet estimated $0.081 million at 31 theaters (+26 theaters, $2,610 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.80 million. Directed by Gavin O'Connor, it stars Janet McTeer and Kimberly J. Brown.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend -- took in approximately $73.25 million, up approximately 5% from $69.77 million for the same weekend last year.
Weekend 50's key film gross was down approximately 2.08% from the $74.78 million that key films took in during Weekend 49 of this year.
Last year, Paramount's opening weekend of "Star Trek: Insurrection" was first with $22.05 million at 2,620 theaters ($8,417 per theater), and Buena Vista/Disney's third weekend of "A Bug's Life" was second with $11.19 million at 2,748 theaters, $4,073 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $33.3 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $37.3 million.
For the first 50 weekends of 1999, ticket sales were approximately $4.738 billion, up about 4.83% from 1998's gross of $4.52 billion. Of this year's 50 weekends, 29 were up (one marginally and one because of a four-day vs. a three-day holiday weekend comparison) and 21 were down (three only marginally and one because of a holiday vs. a nonholiday comparison) vs. last year.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films, the top six distributors in Weekend 50 were the following:
Buena Vista (Touchstone and Disney) was first with four films ("Toy Story 2," "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," "The Insider" and "The Sixth Sense") grossing an estimated $32.90 million or 44.9% of the market.
Warner Bros. was second with two films ("The Green Mile" and "Pokemon: The First Movie") grossing an estimated $19.68 million or 26.8% of the market.
Universal was third with two films ("End Of Days" and "The Bone Collector") grossing an estimated $6.42 million or 8.8% of the market.
MGM was fourth with one film ("The World Is Not Enough") grossing an estimated $6.20 million or 8.5% of the market.
Paramount was fifth with one film ("Sleepy Hollow") grossing an estimated $4.60 million or 6.3% of the market.
Lions Gate was sixth with one film ("Dogma") grossing an estimated $1.20 million or 1.6% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11) "Anywhere But Here"/Fox: Theaters: 1,128 (-498) Gross: $0.71 million (-46%) Average per theater: $630 Total: $17.5 million
(12) "The Sixth Sense"/BV: Theaters: 856 (-178) Gross: $0.63 million (-35%) Average per theater: $733 Total: $274.4 million
(13) "American Beauty"/DreamWorks: Theaters: 595(-99) Gross: $0.59 million (-25%) Average per theater: $985 Total: $68.5 million
(14) "The Insider"/BV/Touchstone: Theaters: 823 (-660) Gross: $0.57 million (-55%) Average per theater: $697 Total: $24.9 million
(15) "The Best Man"/Universal: Theaters: 457 (-46) Gross: $0.38 million (-34%) Average per theater: $840 Total: $32.7 million
(16) "Flawless"/MGM Theaters: 483 (+5) Gross: $0.35 million (-23%) Average per theater: $720 Total: $4 million
(17) "Liberty Heights"/Warner Bros.: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(18) "Mansfield Park"/Miramax: Theaters: 33 (+1) Gross: $0.17 million (-25%) Average per theater: $5,151 Total: $1.1 million
(19) "The Cider House Rules"/Miramax: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(20) "Cradle Will Rock"/BV/Touchst one: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(21) "The End of the Affair"/Columbia: Theaters: 7 (0) Gross: $0.12 million (-41%) Average per theater: $16,726 Total: $0.4 million
(22) "Tumbleweeds"/Fine Line: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(23) "Ride With the Devil"/USA Films: Theaters: 12 (-3) Gross: $0.022 million (-58%) Average per theater: $1,797 Total: $0.2 million
(24) "Diamonds"/Miramax: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(25) "Miss Julie"/MGM: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)

Cats and Dogs reigned at the box office, fetching $21.6 million in ticket sales for Warner Bros.
Also driving the post-July Fourth weekend were high impact arrivals for Dimension Films' Scary Movie 2 and 20th Century Fox's Kiss of the Dragon and very encouraging sneaks for MGM's Legally Blonde.
The PG rated family appeal comedy Cats and Dogs from Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, combining live action with animation and special effects, captured first place with a purr-fectly beautiful ESTIMATED $21.6 million at 3,040 theaters ($7,240 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $35.7 million.
Cats opened Wednesday (July Fourth) with a slim lead over the holiday's other new wide release, the R rated Scary Movie 2 from Miramax's Dimension Films label. Both films benefited from widespread rain across the United States on July Fourth with Cats doing $9.02 million and Scary Movie 2scaring up $8.75 million. On Thursday, July 5 Scary Movie 2 took in $5.26 million while Cats grossed $5.03 million.
Cats' average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
"The great thing about Cats and Dogs is that it's been playing so well for family audiences," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "We're going to be around for a long time. You know, with all the movies coming in, there's really nothing for the young kids."
Focusing on Cats' first five days business, Fellman noted, "This gross beats the first seven days of Space Jam, which grossed $32 million for the week. That's been our largest Warner family film in our company's history. That went on to do $90 million (in domestic theaters). Just trying to look at something similar, Stuart Little, it grossed $27 million its whole first week. That went on to do $139 million (domestically). So I think we have a really good chance of exceeding the $100 million mark since we had such a great start.
"I assume we're going to do at least $40 million for the first week. And we have all this summer play time. We opened Space Jam at Thanksgiving so it didn't have the benefit of having a Saturday every single day (the way summer releases do)."
Dimension Films launched its R rated horror film spoof sequel Scary Movie 2 in second place with a killer ESTIMATED $21.0 million at 3,220 theaters ($6,521 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $34.5 million.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, it stars Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Masterson and Kathleen Robertson.
The original Scary Movie opened last July 9 to $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater). It cost about $19 million to produce and went on to gross about $157 million in domestic theaters.
"We're very happy with the opening," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "It's good enough that Bob (Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax and head of the Dimension label) this morning is already talking about, maybe, another sequel. With this kind of opening we might see Scary Movie 3.
"Scary Movie 2 is poised to be the third highest week in the history of the company (after) Scary Movie and Scream 3. Obviously, from that we're very, very happy from a corporate standpoint. With $34.5 million in five days -- the budget was in the mid-$40 millions roughly -- we're in really good shape here."
Who was on hand this weekend? "Demographically it was pretty even male-female," Kaminow replied. "African-American audiences are really responding very, very well to the film. We think the play there is going to be long. And 18 to 24 is the solid core group, (which) is not surprising. The African-American (exit) scores were above average -- the Top Two Boxes in the 80 percents and the Definite Recommend in the low 80 percents as well, which is a great place to be.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated sci-fi fantasy adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence slid two pegs to third place in its second week with a quieter ESTIMATED $14.15 million (-52 percent) at 3,242 theaters (theater count unchanged; $4,363 per theater). Its cume is approximately $59.7 million.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Spielbergand Bonnie Curtis. Starring are Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt.
"A.I. continues the pattern of other huge films that opened this summer," Warners' Dan Fellman said. "Fast and the Furious dropped 50 percent (its second weekend) and Tomb Raider dropped 59 percent. And both movies have already exceeded $100 million at the box office. I think we'll settle in and we'll play fine. We needed to settle in this week. We'll just continue to play. There's still a tremendous amount of interest in the movie and people are continuing to talk about it. We have our adult audience and they'll continue to drive the movie for quite a while."
20th Century Fox's R rated action drama Kiss of the Dragon kicked off in fourth place with a muscular ESTIMATED $13.64 million at 2,025 theaters ($6,736 per theater).
Directed by Chris Nahon, it stars Jet Li and Bridget Fonda.
"We're very pleased with it," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning. "It's in the area where we were hoping to be."
Noting that it's an extremely competitive marketplace, Snyder added, "It's even hard to figure out how much of a holiday or non-holiday this weekend was, the way the Fourth fell. But it looks like a real solid weekend. We've got six movies doing over $10 million this weekend."
Universal's PG-13 action drama The Fast and the Furious fell three rungs to fifth place in its third week with a slower ESTIMATED $12.4 million (-38 percent) at 2,804 theaters (+81 theaters; $4,405 per theater). Fast, which cost a modest $38 million, has a cume of approximately $101.5 million.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 dropped three notches to sixth place in its third week with a less funny ESTIMATED $10.1 million (-36 percent) at 3,022 theaters (-31 theaters; $3,342 per theater). Its cume is approximately $71.5 million, heading for $100-105 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider slipped three slots in its fourth week with a weaker ESTIMATED $6.8 million (-33 percent) at 3,010 theaters (-339 theaters; $2,259 per theater). Its cume is approximately $115.6 million, heading for $130 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek dropped one rung to eighth place in its eighth week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $6.0 million (-22 percent) at 2,107 theaters (-597 theaters; $2,855 per theater). Its cume is approximately $240.6 million heading for $250 million-plus in domestic theaters.
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis fell three pegs in its fifth week to ninth place with a less turbulent ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-39 percent) at 2,272 theaters (-758 theaters; $2,201 per theater). Its cume is approximately $69.4 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Columbia's R rated African-American appeal drama Baby Boy, down five pegs in its second week and packing less punch with an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-44 percent) at 1,533 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,131 per theater). Made for about $16 million, its cume is approximately $20.8 million, heading for a profitable $30 million in domestic theaters.
Written, produced and directed by John Singleton, it stars Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Ving Rhames.
This weekend also saw Lions Gate Films' unrated erotic drama Lost and Delirious arrive to a not very arousing ESTIMATED $0.045 million at 7 theaters ($6,440 per theater).
Directed by Lea Pool, it stars Piper Perabo.
Miramax's R rated comedy Everybody's Famous opened to a quiet ESTIMATED $0.017 million at 4 theaters ($4,250 per theater).
Written and directed by Dominique Deruddere, it stars Josse De Pauw.
"That goes to about 10 runs on Friday," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
This weekend saw MGM hold very encouraging sneak previews Friday night at about 818 theaters of its PG-13 rated comedy Legally Blonde.
Directed by Robert Luketic, the Marc Platt production stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge with a special appearance by Raquel Welch. Produced by Platt and Ric Kidney, its screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz &amp; Kirsten Smith is based on the book by Amanda Brown.
Blonde will open Friday at over 2,000 theaters.
MGM said Blonde was sneaked in 101 markets, playing to 75 percent of capacity and that 50 percent of its showings were sold out. Those on hand for the sneaks were 25 percent under the age of 18 and 45 percent between 18 and 25. Women accounted for about two-thirds of the ticket sales.
"It was really a very, very good sneak," MGM marketing and distribution president Bob Levin said Sunday morning. "Very strong. In the exits we do, we've got close to 90 percent in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) and a very strong over-75 percent Definite Recommend. Those are the kind of numbers you really hope you get in sneaks because you're trying to drive word of mouth and those are the kind of numbers you need to drive word of mouth. So we're very pleased."
Levin, a well regarded industry veteran who previously headed marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Disney, joined MGM in late June as the studio's distribution and marketing chief.
Asked how the idea of sneaking Blonde came about, Levin explained, "What happened is we had a great reaction to the film at the premiere (held on June 26) and it was one of the exhibitors who happened to mention it to one of our distribution executives and it seemed like a great idea. So we immediately decided to adopt it (and thought) we should sneak it. This is the perfect kind of movie to sneak, where you aren't being driven by a huge potential fixed marketing opening but you have a movie that really plays well. So why not sneak it?"
Who is the target audience for Blonde? "Well, certainly more female than male," Levin replied. "But we have found in the exits we've done that actually guys like the movie as well, but it has to be (regarded as) slightly more female than male. What has been shown through these sneaks is that the actual likeability of the film is across a broad spectrum -- from even pre-teens all the way through what we categorize as older women (those 30 and older)."
Although the marketplace is crowded with product, there's really nothing like Blonde in theaters now. "I think that's why we have a tremendous opportunity," Levin observed. "And that's why the sneaks made sense because we get to advance the word of mouth. This kind of response that these numbers suggest is the response you get where people show up Monday at work or school or camp or wherever they are and really talk about the movie. So it's great on that kind of basis. I think, hopefully, we really do have sort of a unique offering in the marketplace right now."
Blonde marks the start of what could be a strong second half of the year for MGM. "I think we're about ready to, hopefully, do some very good business through the end of the year on a number of different films," Levin noted.
Among the releases upcoming via MGM are the suspense thriller Original Sin, directed by Michael Christofre and starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, and the horror genre film Jeepers Creepers, directed by Victor Salva and starring Gina Philips, both opening in August.
Arriving in September is the drama Deuces Wild, directed by Scott Kalvert and starring Fairuza Balk, Stephen Dorff and Matt Dillon.
October will bring Bandits, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton, and Killing Me Softly, directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes.
In November MGM has the action adventure Windtalkers, directed by John Woo and starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach and Christian Slater.
The studio's action adventure fantasy Rollerball, directed by John McTiernan and starring Chris Klein, L.L. Cool J and Jean Reno, was recently moved from August to early next year.
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated critically acclaimed British crime thriller Sexy Beast continue to widen in its fourth week, still showing good legs with an ESTIMATED $0.71 million (even) at 134 theaters (+25 theaters; $5,325 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.1 million.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
"We feel very good," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "We opened a lot of new smaller markets that did quite well. In the fourth week, we're holding extremely well and we're quite pleased. The film seems to be settling in and getting good word of mouth. The holdovers still did quite nicely. The holdovers fell less than 20 percent, so we're very pleased with that."
Where does it go from here? "Well, this week we add another round of theaters," Gilula replied. "We're going to add 30 screens and go into another 20 markets or so, a bunch of smaller cities (like) Albuquerque, Pittsburgh, Boise, Buffalo and we'll just keep going. As long as the momentum continues, we'll just keep expanding every week. We'll probably get up to, I would think, around 200 runs. Some of the smaller runs will come off, but we'll just keep moving the prints around the country."
With its cume now at about $3.1 million, Gilula said, "We're clearly going to get past $5 million, which for this film will be very successful for us. It's already a financial success for us. My estimate goes up a little each week because of how well the runs are holding in the big cities."
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went a little wider in its fifth week with a still bubbly ESTIMATED $0.45 million (+9 percent) at 107 theaters (+4 theaters; $4,245 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.6 million.
Written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatcher continued to widen in its fourth week with a dull ESTIMATED $0.25 million at 67 theaters (+30 theaters; $3,690 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.61 million.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
Miramax's R rated French comedy The Closet went wider in its second week with a still promising ESTIMATED $0.21 million at 16 theaters (+12 theaters; $13,043 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.38 million.
Directed by Francis Veber, it stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Michele Laroque.
"This Friday it will probably expand to about 30 to 40 runs," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $129.3 million, down about 6.45 percent from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $138.2 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 5.42 percent from last weekend this year when key films took in $122.65 million.
Last year, Dimension Films' opening week of Scary Movie was first with $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater); and Warner Bros.' second week of The Perfect Storm was second with $27.12 million at 3,407 theaters ($7,960 per theater).The top two films one year ago grossed $69.4 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $43.0 million.

MGM's Legally Blonde had the most fun at this weekend's box office, winning a record setting $20 million-plus verdict from moviegoers.
The PG-13 comedy's opening -- MGM's third number one launch this year after Hannibal and Heartbreakers -- generated an energetic ESTIMATED $20.4 million at 2,620 theaters ($7,767 per theater).
Directed by Robert Luketic, the Marc Platt production stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge with a special appearance by Raquel Welch.
"In every measure, it's a great opening for MGM," MGM worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution president Bob Levin said Sunday morning. "It's MGM's fifth biggest opening of all time, the second biggest non-Bond opening, the biggest non-sequel opening and, of course, the (studio's) biggest comedy opening ever (after The Birdcage, which opened to $18.28 million the weekend of Mar. 8-10, 1996 at 1,950 theaters, averaging $9,372 per theater). So it's a great thing for MGM."
Pointing to comparisons that reviewers have made between Blonde and Paramount's 1995 youth appeal comedy hit Clueless, Levin noted that Blonde opened to about twice the gross that Clueless arrived to back in '95 when ticket prices were a little lower. Clueless grossed $10.61 million the weekend of July 21-23, 1995 at 1,653 theaters, averaging $6,420 per theater. It went on to gross $56.6 million in domestic theaters.
"In the sleeper summer movie department," Levin said, "it's bigger than Bring It On opened to last summer (via Universal to $17.36 million the weekend of Aug. 25-27, 2000 at 2,380 theaters, averaging $7,295 per theater), which was considered last summer's big sleeper. And against this summer's movies, it's a great comedy opening. It's bigger than The Animal, which was considered a real good solid summer opening (from Revolution Studios and Columbia to $19.61 million the weekend of June 1-3 at 2,788 theaters, averaging $7,034 per theater). So we're really thrilled in all those comparisons."
Blonde, which MGM sneak previewed very successfully the previous weekend, opened considerably stronger than insiders with an eye on the Hollywood radar screen had anticipated.
"This $20 million was a number that showed up as a possibility early in the day on Friday," Levin explained, "but what none of us would say out loud (because it was) such a number beyond what everything we had collected as information suggested we could do. We were looking at, 'Well, maybe we could do $15 million if we really cooked.'
"The concern was, would the movie start to really slow down (where) you'd go into the 10 o'clock shows on Friday night and they'd be empty. That didn't happen. The movie's got a great under and over 21-year-old profile. And that's what really helped us. It didn't turn into just a little teenybopper kind of movie."
Looking at the studio's exit polls, Levin said, "There were more females certainly in the audience, but it plays to everybody and plays outrageously well to young females."
Asked how they liked it, Levin replied, that the overall audience total in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) was about 85 percent. "Young females in their Top Two Boxes are a 95 percent," he said. "The older females Top Two Boxes are 85 percent (a lower score which is) to be expected. What's great is the young and older males are above norm. The young males are close to 75 percent and the older males are close to 75 percent. And the definite recommend (for) young females is close to 80 percent, older females are slightly over 70 percent and males (younger and older) are both right on 55 percent, which is the high end of the norm.
"Sometimes you get what looks like a female movie and the guys who show up just go, 'I was dragged here. I hate this movie.' And on the male movies, you get women who (feel the same way and) the guys love it and the females don't. This has tremendous potential for word of mouth with that kind of strength among the females and the males going, 'It's okay.' That's great."
Looking ahead, Levin said, "The biggest competition probably comes next weekend with (Revolution and Columbia's opening of) America's Sweethearts (the romantic comedy directed by Joe Roth and staring Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack). We've got to get through that. But with this word of mouth, I think this is hopefully one of those (pictures) that not only sort of surprises people in the power of its opening, but gets a little battle resistant. It can survive the hits (from other films opening) and just keep on coming back."
Blonde points the way to a strong balance of the year for MGM. "I think we're looking to the future," Levin said. "This is really about the past being behind us and the future looking really good."
Paramount's R rated crime drama The Score kicked off in second place to a solid ESTIMATED $19.0 million at 2,129 theaters ($8,924 per theater).
Score's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Directed by Frank Oz, it stars Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett and Marlon Brando.
"It's above our expectations here actually," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "$15-18 million was the tops that I had it (projected at). We exceeded where I thought we would be."
Looking ahead, Lewellen pointed out, "The picture plays very well, we know from past screenings. The fact that there's not a lot of 'intelligent adult movies' in the marketplace versus the popcorn movies that are out there (means that) it's got a chance to run a while."
Cats &amp; Dogs, the PG rated family appeal comedy from Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment fell two pegs to third place in its second weekend with a still lively ESTIMATED $12.0 million (-45%) at 3,040 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,947 per theater). Its cume is approximately $58.9 million.
"Coming off a Fourth of July holiday opening, it's right where we want to be," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning.
"I think we're definitely going to make $100 million-plus (in domestic theaters). I'm looking at different comparisons out there. George of the Jungle opened in the summer and the first 12 days had $48 million in. So we've got 'em by $10-11 million. This picture plays like the weather report. A little nasty weather and, boom, the moms are taking those kids there in five minutes. They like it. So we'll be in great shape with it."
Also working in Cats' favor, Fellman said, is that "There's really nothing coming in (like it). We positioned this movie so we were the last young movie of the summer. The first one looked (like it would be) Shrek and, of course, Shrek took on a life of its own. It's starting to dwindle out. Of course, Atlantis is over now. So that just leaves Shrek and Cats &amp; Dogs. I don't think our (very young) audience is there for Jurassic Park III. Our movie's really (young kids who are) hand-holders. So we're a little bit in a zone of our own. I think we'll be around for quite a while."
Columbia's release of Square Pictures' PG-13 rated computer animated sci-fi fantasy adventure Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within arrived in fourth place to a less spirited than hoped for ESTIMATED $11.5 million at 2,649 theaters ($4,341 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $19.1 million.
"Clearly, we're disappointed especially off the expectations set by (having opened to) a $5 million Wednesday," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing &amp; distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. "I think it was set up pretty well, but at the end of the day did not expand as you normally would expect off that kind of opening number. Obviously, there was some fan interest that crowded the theaters (on Wednesday) a little beyond what happened over the weekend. So I think we had a bit of an inflated Wednesday that set our expectations up a little higher than what we actually ended up doing, but we still did do $19 million for five days."
And with that $19 million already in, Blake said, "now you'd like to think it's going to continue to be sampled. As I look at some of the theater grosses, clearly there's the normal multiplexes, but there's also (some very strong situations). The East Side of New York did quite well because, I think, some of the pieces that have appeared (about the movie's special effects) in the New York Times and elsewhere have piqued curiosity beyond the usual core science-fiction audience. It clearly didn't play as a frenzied science-fiction choice, but it played pretty widely. Hopefully, that will allow it to last a little longer than what you'd usually expect (from) a science fiction property."
Sony has distribution worldwide except for Japan of Fantasy, which Square Pictures reportedly made for $115 million. "It is a distribution deal for us," Blake pointed out, explaining that Sony is "in for prints and ads. Our responsibility is the marketing and distribution costs."
Despite the disappointing domestic launch, Blake added, the film's international ticket sales are off to an encouraging start. "We had strong number one openings in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the first three international markets we opened," he said. "So I still think this could be an important franchise around the world. The total story is not told (by the domestic opening)."
Dimension Films' R rated horror film spoof sequel Scary Movie 2 fell three notches to fifth place in its second week with a less scary ESTIMATED $9.5 million (-54%) at 3,220 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,950 per theater). Its cume is approximately $52.9 million.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, it stars Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Christopher Masterson and Kathleen Robertson.
"I think (it should get domestically) to between $70-75 million," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning.
Universal's PG-13 action drama The Fast and the Furious fell one slot to sixth place in its fourth week with an okay ESTIMATED $7.88 million (-36%) at 2,904 theaters (+106 theaters; $2,715 per theater). Fast, which cost a modest $38 million, has a cume of approximately $115.4 million.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 dropped one rung to seventh place in its fourth week with a slower ESTIMATED $7.0 million (-33%) at 2,826 theaters (-202 theaters; $2,465 per theater). Its cume is approximately $84.3 million, heading for $100 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
20th Century Fox's R rated action drama Kiss of the Dragon slid four posts to eighth place in its second week with a dull ESTIMATED $5.82 million (-56%) at 2,100 theaters (+75 theaters; $2,770 per theater). Its cume is approximately $24.0 million.
Directed by Chris Nahon, it stars Jet Li and Bridget Fonda.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated sci-fi fantasy adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence plunged six pegs to ninth place in its third week with a quiet ESTIMATED $5.13 million (-63%) at 2,830 theaters (-412 theaters; $1,811 per theater). Its cume is approximately $70.0 million, heading for $80 million in domestic theaters.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Spielberg and Bonnie Curtis. Starring are Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt.
"I'm sure (you're aware of) the success that it's had overseas, which is really terrific," Warners' Dan Fellman said, pointing out that Warners is distributing A.I. worldwide. "In Japan alone the picture's going to do $90 million or maybe more. On a global basis, it's going to be a big success.
"You have to remember that Steven made this movie as a legacy to Stanley (Kubrick) and Stanley's biggest movie in the U.S. was Eyes Wide Shut at $55 million. His next biggest movie in the U.S. was Full Metal Jacket at $46 million. Then The Shining at $41 million. So this movie is going to hit $80 million. It really is a Stanley kind of film. The curiosity still exists. That's why I think we'll be able to get $10-12 million, maybe $13 million more out of it (domestically). We'll hang in there."
Rounding out the Top Ten was Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, down three slots in its fifth week with a quieter ESTIMATED $4.0 million (-41%) at 2,164 theaters (-846 theaters; $1,848 per theater). Its cume is approximately $122.6 million, heading for $130 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tombstars Angelina Jolie.
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Artisan's R rated comedy Made with an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.12 million at 3 theaters ($39,069 per theater).
Written and directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Sean Combs, Famke Janssen, Faizon Love and Peter Falk.
Lions Gate's unrated drama Bully opened to an unexciting ESTIMATED $0.057 million at 6 theaters ($9,520 per theater). Directed by Larry Clark, it stars Brad Renfro.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated critically acclaimed British crime thriller Sexy Beast continue to widen in its fifth week, still holding nicely with an ESTIMATED $0.51 million (-31%) at 179 theaters (+45 theaters; $2,821 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.9 million. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
Miramax's R rated French comedy The Closet went wider in its third week with a still encouraging ESTIMATED $0.3 million (+37%) at 43 theaters (+27 theaters; $7,405 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.8 million. Directed by Francis Veber, it stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Michele Laroque. "We'll probably add about another 30 to 40 runs this Friday," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went wider in its sixth week with a less charming ESTIMATED $0.27 million (-37%) at 118 theaters (+12 theaters; $2,285 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.0 million. Written/directed by and starring Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Phoebe Cates, Kevin Kline, , Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatchercontinued to widen in its fifth week with a soft ESTIMATED $0.17 million (-26%) at 72 theaters (+5 theaters; $2,405 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.9 million. Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
Lions Gate Films' unrated erotic drama Lost and Delirious added a theater in its second week, going nowhere with an unexciting ESTIMATED $0.024 million (-41%) at 8 theaters (+1 theater; $3,055 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.087 million. Directed by Lea Pool, it stars Piper Perabo.
Miramax's R rated comedy Everybody's Famous widened in its second week with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.018 million at 10 theaters (+6 theaters; $1,800 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.055 million. Written and directed by Dominique Deruddere, it stars Josse De Pauw.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $116.03 million, down about 20.76% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $146.43 million.
This weekend's key film gross was down about 8.46% from last weekend this year when key films took in $126.75 million.
Last year, Fox's opening week of X-Men was first with $54.47 million at 3,025 theaters ($18,007 per theater); and Dimension Films' second week of Scary Movie was second with $26.2 million at 3,152 theaters ($8,311 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $80.7 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $39.4 million.

Moviegoers gave Steven Spielberg's A.I. an A-OK $30 million opening this weekend.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated sci-fi fantasy adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence topped the chart with an enviable ESTIMATED $30.14 million at 3,242 theaters ($9,295 per theater).
A.I. 's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Spielbergand Bonnie Curtis. Starring are Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt.
"I'm very happy," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "To open at the same level as Saving Private Ryan, which did $30.5 million, and The Truman Show, which did $31.5 million, (is very gratifying). All of these films were critically acclaimed and played primarily to adult audiences. And they all were released in the summer. So I've been watching these movies (box office numbers) carefully.
"In talking to the Spielberg camp, they're very happy. You know, it's a tribute to Stanley (Kubrick). This $30 million opening is the highest opening of any film in which Stanley had been associated. His biggest opening was his last movie, Eyes Wide Shut, which did $21.7 million (and went on to gross about $56 million in domestic theaters). Full Metal Jacket, which was his next biggest, had a domestic box office total of $46 million."
Who turned out for A.I. 's opening weekend? "The film attracted couples. About 51 percent of the audience were males and 49 percent were females," Fellman said. "It was primarily moviegoers 25 years and older. Major cities played the strongest, of course, across North America. The three biggest grosses came out of New York -- the Lincoln Square in two days was about $82,000, followed by Broadway, which was $75,000 and the Greenwich Village, which was $65,000.
"Over 80 percent of the audience rated the film good to excellent, so I think we'll be around for a while. It's a very provocative movie. People continue to talk about it. I think they're surprised when they walk in. After they see the movie, it may be a little different than what they expected. But it's certainly the kind of film that people talk a lot about."
Asked where it's heading in domestic theaters, Fellman replied, "Well, I'm certainly looking for the $100 million-plus mark. But obviously the rest of it is based on how we hold. The Truman Show ended up at about $125 million. Of course, Private Ryan is in a class of its own (with) over $200 million. We will definitely be watching this carefully and see what happens."
Universal's PG-13 action drama The Fast and the Furious drove down one notch to second place in its second weekend with a still muscular ESTIMATED $20.0 million (-50%) at 2,723 theaters (+95 theaters; $7,345 per theater). Fast, which was made for a modest $38 million, has a cume of approximately $77.8 million and is heading for $100 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 slipped one peg to third place in its second weekend with a still funny ESTIMATED $15.4 million (-38%) at 3,053 theaters (+4 theaters; $5,045 per theater). Its cume is approximately $51.0 million.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was still plunging in its third week, down one notch to fourth with a softer ESTIMATED $9.8 million (-50%) at 3,349 theaters (+37 theaters; $2,926 per theater). Its cume is approximately $101.2 million, heading for $125 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.
Columbia's R rated African-American appeal drama Baby Boy arrived in fifth place to a solid ESTIMATED $8.6 million at 1,533 theaters ($5,610 per theater). Its cume after 5 days is approximately $11.7 million.
Written, produced and directed by John Singleton, it stars Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Ving Rhames.
"It's a good solid opening in a tough market," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing &amp; distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. "Certainly, the weekdays look to be very good next week and it should be a great weekend next weekend, as well.
"It's a $16 million negative (cost) picture that we think should end up right where we hoped it would be in the $30-40 million range (in domestic theaters)."
Baby Boy faced competition this weekend for its core audience of African-American moviegoers from Paramount's Chris Rock comedy Pootie Tang. Pootie, which some media observers criticized for opening when it would fragment the African-American audience, only grossed an ESTIMATED $1.55 million and failed to crack the Top Ten (see OTHER OPENINGS below for details).
"I think initially in our movie world it was a little disconcerting when Pootie Tang landed on our date," Blake observed. "But the more we thought about it, (we realized that) certainly you wouldn't hesitate to counter program an inexpensive comedy aimed at white teenagers against a more ambitious project. So I think a bit too much was made of it in this case. And, obviously, I don't think it ended up being much of a factor."
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire descended two levels in its fourth week to sixth place, making fewer waves with an ESTIMATED $7.8 million (-38%) at 3,030 theaters (-41 theaters; $2,573 per theater). Its cume is approximately $58.0 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek dropped two rungs to seventh place in its seventh week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $7.1 million (-32%) at 2,704 theaters (-303 theaters; $2,605 per theater). Its cume is approximately $227.5 million on its way to $250 million or more.
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 teen appeal drama crazy / beautiful arrived in eighth place to a not so beautiful ESTIMATED $4.5 million at 1,601 theaters ($2,815 per theater).
Directed by John Stockwell, it stars Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez.
Buena Vista/Touchstone and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' PG-13 rated three-hour epic action romance Pearl Harbor fell two pegs to ninth place in its sixth weekend with a calm $4.4 million (-35%) at 2,305 theaters (-363 theaters; $1,918 per theater). Its cume is approximately $179.4 million, on its way to $200 million by late summer.
Directed by Michael Bay, Pearl was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Starring are Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow's R rated action thriller Swordfish, down four rungs in its fourth week but still in the box office swim with an ESTIMATED $4.0 million (-48%) at 2,225 theaters (-435 theaters; $1,798 per theater). Its cume is approximately $60.5 million, heading for $70 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Dominic Sena and produced by Joel Silver and Jonathan Krane, it stars John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle.
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw Paramount PG-13 rated African-American appeal comedy Pootie Tang arrive to a not so funny ESTIMATED $1.4 million at 712 theaters ($2,020 per theater).
Written and directed by Louis C. K., it stars Chris Rock.
Miramax's R rated French comedy The Closet opened as a Miramax Zoe label release in New York and San Francisco to an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.080 million at 4 theaters ($20,000 per theater).
Directed by Francis Veber, it stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Michele Laroque.
"This Friday we're adding another five markets, so we'll probably be in about 12 to 15 screens for this weekend," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning.
TriStar's R rated crime thriller The Crimson Rivers, opened to a slow ESTIMATED $0.035 million at 7 theaters ($5,000 per theater). Its theatrical run sets Rivers up for a home video release.
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, it stars Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel.
USA Films' PG-13 drama Pandaemonium opened quietly to an ESTIMATED $2,477 at 1 theater in Los Angeles.
Directed by Julien Temple, it stars John Hannah, Linus Roache, Samantha Morton and Emily Woof.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated critically acclaimed British crime thriller Sexy Beast continue to widen in its third week with a still hot ESTIMATED $0.72 million (+17%) at 109 theaters (+48 theaters; $6,580 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.9 million.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
"I feel very good (about its performance)," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "In many of the core urban markets -- Manhattan, L.A., Washington, D.C., San Francisco -- the film is holding extremely well. A number of the new regional markets actually did quite well in addition. Portland was quite good. It's good everywhere and some of them are actually outstanding.
"So we feel very, very good that we're going to continue to expand and play through the summer and hold for long runs. We're adding another 20 cities for an additional 25 theaters this week so we'll be in about 135 runs this coming Friday."
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went wider in its fourth week with a less lively ESTIMATED $0.42 million (-30%) at 103 theaters (+18 theaters; $4,110 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.9 million.
Written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatcher expanded in its third week with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.13 million at 37 theaters (+24 theaters; $3,390 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.27 million.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $120.56 million, down about 6.22% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $128.56 million for the Friday-Sunday portion of the five day July Fourth holiday weekend. July Fourth fell on a Tuesday last year, which allowed for a five-day weekend. This year the holiday falls on a Wednesday and is not part of the weekend.
This weekend's key film gross was down about 12.47% from last weekend this year when key films took in $137.74 million.
Last year, Warner Bros.' opening week of The Perfect Storm was first with $41.33 million (for three days) at 3,407 theaters ($12,129 per theater); and Columbia's opening week of The Patriot was second with $22.41 million at 3,061 theaters ($7,322 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $63.7 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $50.1 million.
# # #

Hollywood is expecting Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's opening of "The Green Mile" to walk off with the most box office green this weekend.
The R-rated drama, written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tom Hanks, kicks off at more than 2,850 theaters.
"'Toy Story [2],' if it's down in the neighborhood of 35-40%, is $16-18 million. And I think 'Green Mile' beats that based on the tracking. They're sitting there with an 18% first choice right now," one studio executive said earlier this week."
"It is high," he said of the tracking results. "Although I understand the reviews are not very good, with Tom Hanks (starring), that's $20 million-plus."
While a $20 million-plus opening is certainly very attractive, it's not spectacular. One of the factors working against a bigger first weekend for the adult appeal "Green" is that adults are busy with shopping and other things in the post-Thanksgiving weeks.
"Women are not so available (this weekend) with Christmas shopping and parties and all that," the executive observed. "But it is Tom Hanks. If anything keeps it from getting to $20 million, it's exactly that factor -- the time of the year. Last year, 'You've Got Mail' opened to something like $18 million ($18.4 million via Warner Bros. the weekend of Dec. 18-20). But you probably have more male interest in 'Green Mile' than there was in 'You've Got Mail,' which was more of a chick flick."
On the other hand, he added, "If 'Toy Story' is down only 28%, that's $20 million, too. But my gut feeling is 'Green Mile' probably edges it out, and then 'Toy Story' is somewhere around $18 million."
The Buena Vista/Disney and Pixar G-rated computer-animated blockbuster "Toy Story 2" is heading for $250 million to $300 million in domestic theaters. Directed by John Lasseter, "Toy 2" features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Wayne Knight, Laurie Metcalf, Estelle Harris and R. Lee Ermey.
Third place this weekend should go to Buena Vista/Touchstone's opening of its R-rated youth-appeal comedy "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" at about 2,000 theaters.
"'Deuce Bigalow' has actually got a 12% first choice at this point," the executive said. "I think that's (a gross) somewhere in the low-to-mid-teens. I understand it's a pretty rough R, but I don't think that will keep teen-age and young-adult audiences from coming to see it." Directed by Mike Mitchell, it stars "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Rob Schneider.
MGM's "The World Is Not Enough" should wind up in fourth place with around $7 million. The PG-13-rated "World," the 19th in MGM's James Bond series, is directed by Michael Apted and stars Pierce Brosnan in his third performance as 007.
There could be a close race for fifth place. Both Universal and Beacon Pictures' R-rated action epic "End of Days" and Paramount's R-rated "Sleepy Hollow" could wind up grossing around $6 million this weekend.
Directed by Peter Hyams, "End of Days" is a supernatural thriller pitting Arnold Schwarzenegger against Satan. "Sleepy Hollow," directed by Tim Burton, stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.
Universal's R-rated thriller "The Bone Collector," directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, which finished fifth last weekend, appears likely to come in seventh this time around.
"'Bone Collector' has been hanging in there respectably, but it was down to $3.2 million last weekend and, I'm assuming, they're going to lose theaters because they're at that point now where they're just going to get crowded out of the 12-plexes and so on. It should be somewhere in the low $2 millions."
Rounding out the chart in eighth, ninth and 10th place will be three of the following four films: Warner Bros.' G-rated animated feature "Pokemon: The First Movie"; Lions Gate's R-rated irreverent comedy "Dogma," directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Linda Fiorentino; Buena Vista/Touchstone's R-rated drama "The Insider," directed by Michael Mann and starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe; and USA Films' R-rated comedy-drama "Being John Malkovich," directed by Spike Jonze and starring John Malkovich, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener.
On the specialized front, there will be considerable activity this weekend. Miramax's PG-13-rated drama "The Cider House Rules" starts exclusive runs in New York and Los Angeles. A likely Oscar and Golden Globes contender in a number of the major categories, "Cider House" was adapted to the screen by John Irving from his own novel. It was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and stars Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine.
Miramax's PG-13-rated comedy-drama "Diamonds" opens in New York for a one-week Oscar qualifying run. Directed by John Asher, it stars Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall.
Warner Bros.' R-rated comedy-drama "Liberty Heights," which opened in mid-November in New York, L.A. and Baltimore (where it takes place), goes into limited release. The studio will hold sneak previews of the critically acclaimed "Heights" the following weekend and take it wider Dec. 22. Written and directed by Barry Levinson, the film stars Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Orlando Jones, Bebe Neuwirth and Joe Mantegna.
MGM's R-rated drama "Miss Julie" starts exclusive runs in New York and L.A. Directed by Mike Figgis, it stars Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan and Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Fine Line's PG-13-rated drama "Tumbleweeds," playing in New York and L.A. since Nov. 24, goes into limited release in the top 15 markets. Directed by Gavin O'Connor, it stars Janet McTeer and Kimberly J. Brown.
Looking ahead to the weekend of Dec. 17-19, insiders say 20th Century Fox's "Anna and the King" is at this early point only a 5 percent first choice in tracking studies. Buena Vista/Touchstone's "Bicentennial Man" is an 8 percent first choice. Those numbers should increase as their marketing campaigns kick in, especially with television advertising.
The PG-13-rated period drama "Anna" is directed by Andy Tennant and stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. The PG-rated family comedy "Bicentennial Man" is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Robin Williams.
Also arriving in theaters Dec. 17 is Columbia's PG rated fantasy-adventure "Stuart Little." "Of course, 'Stuart Little's' very hard to judge because kids' movies just don't track well," the studio executive said.
On the other hand, Universal's R-rated bio-drama "Man On The Moon," directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey as late comedian Andy Kaufman, is already said to be showing a 9% first-choice score in tracking studies.
"You've got to figure that's (because of) Carrey," says the executive. Since "Man" doesn't land in theaters until Dec. 22, there's plenty of time for its already good score to increase and translate into a big opening weekend.